On the day of the "tide-watching" event, the entire royal family was present. The wives of the princes wore heavy court robes and sat upright in the corridor, while Consort Tong wore the court robes of an imperial consort, with a cap on her head and exquisite makeup on her face.
The ladies-in-waiting all lowered their heads, watching the royal women adorned with jewels and exuding considerable presence. Many of them had good relationships with the princes' primary wives, who were generally very approachable in private. Now, dressed in the attire of the princes' primary wives, they had to admit that their demeanor had improved considerably.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, I noticed that the way the ladies of the court look at us has changed. It's quite different from how they usually look at us!" The Fifth Princess Consort is considered the least noticeable of the royal consorts, but now she is quite dignified.
"Sister-in-law, clothes make the man. You always dress simply, no wonder some people don't respect you. Most of these people are snobs!" Qingyan had heard many women say that the Fifth Princess Consort was always being harassed. As her sister-in-law, she couldn't say too much, but when the Fifth Princess Consort needed help, the two of them gave her their full support.
A happy smile appeared on the Fifth Prince's face. Qingyan had really helped a lot. Before, her treatment was very poor, and she rarely got to go out with Yinqi. Therefore, most of the other wives of officials did not respect her at all. On the contrary, the concubines of the mansion were more familiar to these wives of officials.
"Fourth Sister-in-law is right, Fifth Sister-in-law, you must hold on tight and make sure the southern tour is a complete success this time!" Seventh Princess Consort also agreed with Qingyan's opinion.
A smile appeared on Qingyan's face. Her relationship with her sisters-in-law was quite harmonious with some of them, while with others it was just a facade.
On the other side, the Third Prince's wife's face was not very pleasant. Ever since Yinzhi was confined by Emperor Kangxi, the powerful figures from the south no longer came to visit. The officials' wives who were familiar with him used to avoid the Third Prince's residence. However, Yinzhi didn't care at all. He was engrossed in something in his study, which made the Third Prince's wife very annoyed.
"Fourth sister-in-law, you've gone a bit too far with your words. How dare you interfere in the affairs of Fifth Master's residence?" The Third Princess's voice rose a little, and some of the officials' wives who heard the voice looked over.
"Third sister-in-law, are you confused? I said that Fifth Sister-in-law performed very well this time, showing the demeanor of a primary consort. When did I say that I was 'interfering' in the affairs of Fifth Master's residence? I dare not bear such a reputation. You are slandering me!" Qingyan retorted directly.
In front of the officials' wives, Qingyan didn't want to leave any bad reputation. For the sake of Yin and the children, she had to minimize the harm. The Third Prince's wife wanted to ruin her reputation with just a few words.
"Third sister-in-law, why did you only listen to half of what I said?" Fifth Princess Consort chimed in from the side. Previously, the Third Princess Consort and the Second Princess Consort had a very good relationship, which Fifth Princess Consort remembered well. The Second Princess Consort always tried to get closer to Qingyan.
Qingyan directly humiliated the secondary consort with the question, "I am the primary consort, and you are the secondary consort. Do you think our statuses are equal?" After going out to a gathering that day, the secondary consort cried and complained to Yinqi for a long time, but Yinqi felt that the secondary consort was being unreasonable.
"Third Sister-in-law, you should keep an eye on things in your own household. Third Master's reputation isn't very good lately!" Eighth Princess Consort chimed in.
Qingyan frowned slightly. The Eighth Princess Consort seemed to have a very good relationship with her, and Qingyan didn't want this sticky candy to get close to her.
"Eighth Princess Consort, you must also be careful. We are all members of the royal family, and we should think about the royal family. If the prince does anything wrong, you should also try to persuade him!" Qingyan's words about the Eighth Princess Consort directly shattered her thoughts. The wives of officials had heard about Qingyan's three affairs with the Jue Luo clan, so everyone was watching and waiting.
The Eighth Prince's wife remained silent, her face showing a wronged expression, and Qingyan showed her absolutely no respect.
Fourth Sister-in-law, the Eighth Prince's wife, stared at Qingyan with a sullen expression, as if she had done something wrong.
"Eighth sister-in-law, if you have something to say, say it quickly. Don't act like this, as if Fourth Sister-in-law has bullied you!" Seventh Prince's wife didn't have a good impression of Eighth Prince's wife.
When the Eighth Prince's wife first married into the royal family, the Seventh Prince's wife and the Eighth Prince's wife harbored resentment against each other, which has not been resolved to this day.
Both Ninth and Tenth Prince's wives were somewhat disgusted with Eighth Prince's wife, finding her rather petty. With Lady Guoluo setting a good example, the royal sisters-in-law felt that Lady Guoluo was actually easier to get along with than this woman.
"Seventh Sister-in-law, you can't judge me based on past grievances!" Eighth Princess Consort said, looking aggrieved.
Everyone felt that the Eighth Prince's wife had gone too far. Every time they spoke to them, she would act as if she had suffered a great injustice after only a few words, making them feel very uncomfortable.
"What are you all saying? Making such a racket while watching the tide? Don't you have any manners?" The Crown Princess's gaze fell upon them, and everyone stopped talking, sitting upright in their chairs, ready to look in the direction of the tide-watching.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, where are we going to eat later?" The Tenth Princess Consort was more concerned about the food.
Pfft.
The wives all laughed. The Tenth Prince's wife and Yinzhen were a perfect couple, and they didn't seem to care about any of this. The two of them focused on the food, and no matter how much others tried to please them, they seemed not to notice.
"Let's go to Lou Wai Lou. Don't eat at Yue Lai Inn this time. The Hangzhou cuisine there is much better!" Qingyan said directly.
After hearing Qingyan's introduction, the Tenth Prince's wife was filled with anticipation.
"My God!" Fifth Princess exclaimed in surprise while the two were chatting. In the distance, the tide was crashing onto the embankment. Everyone was stunned as they looked at the layers of water.
Qingyan looked through his telescope and became even more worried. The villages near the dike were probably going to suffer another disaster. The royal family treated watching the tide as entertainment, but the nearby people treated it as a natural disaster.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, are there any people living over there?" Fifth Princess asked timidly.
"I don't know!" Qingyan shook her head. This is something that can't be said carelessly.
As soon as the Fifth Prince's wife finished speaking, the other prince's wives also whispered to each other, asking others. No one knew much about what had happened since they arrived. They were all on guard.
"Sulan, go ask Bayan if we have any shops over there!" Qingyan felt there was something strange about the tide; were the dikes along the way really that sturdy?
If the dike were to breach in one place, it would be an unexpected disaster.
Su Lan left quietly, and the wives didn't pay much attention, figuring that Qing Yan must have given her something to tell her.
"Hurry up and take a look, it's rare for Father to be in such a good mood!" Qingyan said, seeing the worried looks on her sisters-in-law's faces.
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